Young and Restless Star Christel Khalil: “I Want to Stay”

These contract negotiations at the Bell soaps are starting to make the Middle East peace talks look like an afternoon tea in Mother's parlor! The Young and the Restless star Christel Khalil spoke to MSN about why she could be leaving the role of Lily Winters. Here's an excerpt:

"I want to stay," Khalil said. "I heard a rumor someone said I was deciding to leave, but it's not really working that way. There's something I want that they don't want to give to me. It hurts. I thought I would be worth what I thought I was worth to them, but I guess I'm not."

The article goes on to say money and restrictions are at issue in the recent Daytime Emmy winner's negotiations. Do you think Y&R and Khalil will be able to come to some sort of 11th hour agreement? Sound off in the comments!

I would be interested to hear what she asked TPTB that they could’nt give her. If it’s just more money, I will be really disappointed. Anyone knows that they don’t give a raise to people these days. And I don’t think it was just the money, there is something else she wanted….hmmm, what is it?

I believe CK said she was wanted to do Dirty Soap but was prevented from doing it by CBS & Y&R so she probably wants freedom to do some outside projects. Which who can blame her since they haven’t really given Lily a storyline.

Y&R does seem to be Uber Protective of their ‘Brand’ so I can honestly see them raising objections to her doing Dirty Soap, rather than say…Dancing With the Stars or a reality show NOT related to her day job on a soap.

If she’s asked in the past and they nixed the idea and she kept working with them, I can’t see Dirty Soap being the sticking point.

Neither do I see them preventing her from doing a non soap related side gig as it seems that pretty much every one is already doing something on the side. So…

I’m thinking it must be something (combined with money) that is very specific. That’s JMO.

I still think they want to put Lily with a “brother” and she refused. (the casting call that went out for an AA MBA). I don’t think it’s a recast for Devon. I think it’s for a new guy for Lily. Maybe it’s CANE they were intending to get rid of, and they want a new man for Lily.

I just find her funny looking and boring to watch. I cried when Alan died. I cried when Alexis had cancer. I cry when little Jake was ran down. When she had cancer, I could not cry or get attached. She is just … boring. Maybe if she got some fire lit under her ass she would do better. I don’t know what to say. She just always rubs me the wrong way….

[quote=john2124]I just find her funny looking and boring to watch. I cried when Alan died. I cried when Alexis had cancer. I cry when little Jake was ran down. When she had cancer, I could not cry or get attached. She is just … boring. Maybe if she got some fire lit under her ass she would do better. I don’t know what to say. She just always rubs me the wrong way….[/quote]

The cancer storyline was a JOKE. She looked more glamorous in the throws of cancer/chemo than I look on a good day as a healthy person. At least when Ashley had cancer she looked SICK. CK probably refused to have them put a sickly pallor on her dewy face.

I hope CK stays. I’ve enjoyed her performance as Lily. I think the restrictions seems unfair given how other cast members are allowed to do other projects. Billy Miller and Michael G. had recurring roles on the CW’s Ringer and the Secret Circle, respectively.

Also, if CK took a pay cut previously, being asked to take another one might be painful. Every one wants the best deal for herself. Right?

At this age you stay quiet. You ain’t Eric Braeden, Melody Thomas Scott or Jeanne Cooper.

You don’t like what they offer you? Then LEAVE!
But going public with this and now hoping your fans are going to rescue because it worked with your on-screen partner? No wonder this genre is in so much trouble…!!!!

The Lane fans who act as if they are her close personal friend claim that she wants to do “outside projects” and that TPTB won’t let her. They are whining that Billy Miller gets to, so why can’t CK? Maybe it’s the KIND of *outside projects* she wants to pursue that they have a problem with. Like maybe she wants to start a sex line or pose for Playboy.

As I stated on another thread CK is still very young. I could easily see her on other shows on ABC Family, like Pretty Little Liars where her friend Tammin Sursok is on. I would guess that maybe she wants to be able to guest star on shows like these. If it does not work out in daytime for her, I think she will still have a career in Primetime. It is obvious that she DOES want to stay in Y&R. If she has to take a pay cut, which is understandable in these times, then she should be able to do outside projects! That is what I presume the personal restrictions are but I may be way off base. Even though these actors are taking pay cuts, they still have bills to pay and a lifestyle to maintain.

@Everyone: I hate it when people act like someone has to cater to actors personal needs when it comes to salary. Bitch if you gotta take a pay cut then you gotta do what everyone does, cut your spend. Go to Walmart. You’re not entitled to have a big house or get Louis Vuitton diapers. Come on now. It is the economy stupid!

When you are Julia Roberts, Will Smith or Tom Cruise then you can make demands and they’ll met them.

But when soap actors leave daytime they are just a number in audition hallways hoping to get a chance to play a bit-part in a movie or a guest role on primetime series.

Since Hollywood generally looks down on the soap industry (thanks to people like Ron Moss and Drake) you gotta work that much harder to prove that you are just as talented (if you are) as the other actors at the audition.

[quote=josstheguy]I hope CK stays. I’ve enjoyed her performance as Lily. I think the restrictions seems unfair given how other cast members are allowed to do other projects. Billy Miller and Michael G. had recurring roles on the CW’s Ringer and the Secret Circle, respectively.

Also, if CK took a pay cut previously, being asked to take another one might be painful. Every one wants the best deal for herself. Right?[/quote]

I am a Billy Miller fan and as you pointed out Sony allows Billy Miller to waltz in and out of this show like its his personal home, so why shouldnt she get the same treatment?. In the last year how many times has Billy gone to LA to work on the Restless Style TV show deal while BM was off doing another project? Honestly its not like this show has been writing for Lily heavily that any time she takes off will disrupt the show. The Winters are barely on and for the most part they are relegated to Winter Wednesdays. Lily hasnt had a story in long time. I highly doubt she is making outrageous demands, I dont see why they cant accomodate her when they are flexible with BM and others.

@kintex: She does not have the talent worthy of a storyline and when she did she couldn’t carry it. You need a woman who just pops off the screen when she hits it. That actress has to walk in a room and make fans pay attention!

i’m not a big fan of ck’s i think she’s competent but wouldn’t mind if she left. having said that, i believe she has the right to play a bit of hard ball with negotiations. tptb certainly will, ask melody and jess. if she wants to let the brass and the public know that she’d like to stay but not if it means selling herself short then that’s what she should do. i wish her the best of luck and hope that the restrictions have nothing to do with the direction of the character she currently plays.

[quote=david46208]@kintex: She does not have the talent worthy of a storyline and when she did she couldn’t carry it. You need a woman who just pops off the screen when she hits it. That actress has to walk in a room and make fans pay attention!

I disagree,in my opinion CK does have the talent to carry a story.I personally just dont like the stories MAB wrote for her. I also dont find MCE that captivating and nothing she has done on Y&R has left me wanting for more. Her Chelsea has been a total dud in my opinion.

I think she looks very pretty in the picture with this story. I think that since no one knows what she really wants, besides money, they should just quit guessing and let it play out. She will either get what she wants or not and stay or go. Guessing isn’t going to get any of us an answer.

@kintex: I don’t like her either on here. Nor has Debbie worked out. Now back to CK. A capable and talented actress can act their way through good and bad writing in a role they have played for years.

Debbie Morgan, Darnell Williams played the hell our of Angie and Jesse even through bad writing. So don’t blame the writing. It is the job of the actor/actress to bring something to the role. To make the character standout. Make the audience want to see them! Where they can’t miss a minute of their performances.

Even Suzanne Rogers (Maggie, Days) who has been woefully neglected over the decades, can walk in a room and make the audience PAY ATTENTION with just her eyes. She does not even have to speak.

If you keep lower the thresh-hold for acting, then we end up a position with actors and actresses who couldn’t carry a 5 day a week storyline for their life. So they TPTB end up depending on the vets to fill out the storyline in hopes that people will still watch. B&B anyone!

The hate for CK is strong on this board! The article mentions money and a “restriction”, but we don’t have further info. Just wondering with the level of vitriol against her on here if some of you have inside info that we don’t know. Please share because it’s a little scary to read these angry comments.

Given the fact that most soaps are on life support, it would be wise for her to secure a side gig (if that is in fact the restriction issue). I hope everything works out. Like I said, I’m new to Y&R (and to this board) so I’m going to catch up on old episodes to try to figure out how she became so hated.

I hope the new regime doesn’t start off on the wrong foot by firing and recasting characters/actors. As much as people say they do not like the actress and think Lily is dull, it’s only because of Maria Bell and her grade school writing for her character. When Cane died (wish he remained dead) Christel put in an amazing performance as a grieving Lily. She even played the “going crazy part” believable and the chemistry she showed with Daniel without betraying the love for Cane was testament to the actress’ talent.

Then Maria brought Cane back and Lily once again was a dull character. Seriously, Lily is tied to the show’s core family and should stay while Cane is jettison out of town so Lily can hook up with a new character.

It sounds like she simply wants the option to be able to do other things, which considering how little they use her/the character, who can blame her? She’s stated in the past that she was in fact approached to do dirty soap but CBS/Sony prevented her. Again, with as little as she’s used, and considering another paycheck is another paycheck, especially when you’re a single mother, I get her frustration.

She says she wants to stay, but it has to be clear to her at this point that she isn’t a priority to tiic at Y&R, so she should just walk away. As others have pointed out, she’s very young, and has skills on par with the actresses on shows that air on The CW, ABC Family, etc.

She has the right kind of look. I think she’d be successful there. *kanye shrug* lol

Billy Miller has been given the freedom to hop in and out of this show, but that was with the past regime. His contract should but up right about now, too. Do we know if he officially re-signed?

[quote=david46208]@kintex: I don’t like her either on here. Nor has Debbie worked out. Now back to CK. A capable and talented actress can act their way through good and bad writing in a role they have played for years.
Debbie Morgan, Darnell Williams played the hell our of Angie and Jesse even through bad writing. So don’t blame the writing. It is the job of the actor/actress to bring something to the role. To make the character standout. Make the audience want to see them! Where they can’t miss a minute of their performances.
Even Suzanne Rogers (Maggie, Days) who has been woefully neglected over the decades, can walk in a room and make the audience PAY ATTENTION with just her eyes. She does not even have to speak.
If you keep lower the thresh-hold for acting, then we end up a position with actors and actresses who couldn’t carry a 5 day a week storyline for their life. So they TPTB end up depending on the vets to fill out the storyline in hopes that people will still watch. B&B anyone![/quote]

Everyone is going to have their own opinions on who is or isnt a good actor. Some will find people who share their opinions and others will find that some people feel differently. Just because I dont share your opinion it doesnt make my opinion any less than yours so I am not “lowering the thresh-hold for acting”. You are not an expert authority on the subject and neither am I. We are all just sharing our lay opinions as viewers. So while you think she doesnt have any talent, I think she does have talent. It doesnt make either one of us wrong or right we just dont share an opinion about her acting.

If you have a mortgage to pay and food to put on the table, you will take what they give you! If Eric Braeden, Melody Thomas Scott and Jess Walton had to take paycuts, what makes you think you are immune? Kindly be seated!

Though I must admit I haven’t wished this hard in a LONG time for contract negotiations to fall through!!! I know that sounds mean of me, but anyone who knows me on this board knows that I have never been a fan of this girl, so………….

[quote=david46208]@Everyone: I hate it when people act like someone has to cater to actors personal needs when it comes to salary. Bitch if you gotta take a pay cut then you gotta do what everyone does, cut your spend. Go to Walmart. You’re not entitled to have a big house or get Louis Vuitton diapers. Come on now. It is the economy stupid!

When you are Julia Roberts, Will Smith or Tom Cruise then you can make demands and they’ll met them.

But when soap actors leave daytime they are just a number in audition hallways hoping to get a chance to play a bit-part in a movie or a guest role on primetime series.

Since Hollywood generally looks down on the soap industry (thanks to people like Ron Moss and Drake) you gotta work that much harder to prove that you are just as talented (if you are) as the other actors at the audition.[/quote]

I read her quote and It didn’t mention money demands anywhere, maybe she wants a specific day off, maybe she wants pedicures thrown in, who knows. Just assuming she is asking for more money is pure speculation. She has been in the role for a long time, it would be a shame to lose her I think.

I personally have nothing against Christel Khalil nor the Lily character, I just have believed (for years now) that she was more effective in the role when she was playing Teen Lily.

Many might disagree with me, but I thought she was most effective when she had both Dru and Neil to play against because then you saw the contrast and it in turn made Lily more dynamic.

Now, in isolation, and as an adult, from what I’ve seen, I haven’t seen consistency in convincing me that she is a leading lady. Yes, some of this may well be that Lily (and Christel) have suffered from poor inconsistent writing but so has every other character on this show over the last 4 or 5 years and many still manage to find the dynamism in their performance.

Sharon Case, for example, has probably suffered the most from terrible writing/storylines yet, she managed to work wonders with a hackneyed script. So poor writing is not much of an excuse.

I do agree that we don’t yet know what is at the heart of this impasse and what that specific ‘thing’ that she wanted that Y&R would not grant, so many can only speculate at this point.

Is it the ability to do outside projects, as some speculate?

Is she trying to get a ‘character’ clause put in her contract (a la Victor Newman?)

We don’t know but I suspect this cannot remain much of a curiosity for long as things usually don’t remain under wraps for long.

I just know that this show has lost a lot of viewers over the years and Y&R/Sony have now had to intervene and it is now up to them to do what they feel they must (thanks to MAB’s hellacious showrunning) to try to steer this ensemble show somewhere close to the point where viewers can actually get excited about this show again. And this effort will be greater than one actor or one couple.

[quote=david46208]@Marcelle: I like the way you pointed to the specific networks. LoL. Hamburger.[/quote]
LOL, no shade to CK, but she’d be perfect on one of those networks. And those gigs tend to be higher profile and marginally more respected than any role on daytime. Those girls from Pretty Little Liars, and Gossip Girl, and Teen Wolf on MTV are always in magazines, at awards shows, and are landing movie roles, whether deserved or not.

Whatever CK’s acting skills may or may not be, she’s at the very least as capable as the peeps on those shows are. Let’s face it, daytime soaps in their current form are on borrowed time. Why wait to go out when the ship sinks?

This could very honestly end up being the best thing to ever happen to her acting career.

I love you like a stepbrother, but even on her WORST day, Christel Khalil is still TEN times better than Denise Vasi. I never thought I would find myself defending Christel Khalil, but even I must admit when enough is enough….

Still love you, though!! :love: :love: :love:

Oh, and I disagree about Melissa Claire Egan’s character being a dud too. I think she’s a great addition to the show.

Personally I always liked Davetta Sherwood as Lily better. She had more life to her and I could actually see her as Dru’s child. CK Lily bores me as does Lane.

All of that aside, soaps are dying. And even the #1 soap has had to tighten the purse strings. Actors are taking paycuts and they have had to cut the budget. So actor demands (whether outrageous or not) are probably not going to go over so well. Really they haven’t used Lily in awhile except in really pointless storylines or as an extra in other people’s.

But on the other side the Lane fans are a large and very vocal fanbase. So do you cut off your nose to spite your face?

[quote]Oh, and I disagree about Melissa Claire Egan’s character being a dud too. I think she’s a great addition to the show.[/quote]
I have nothing against MCE’s acting, but the writing has been awful! I was gagging watching that boring scene today with Adam and the sundae. “This will be a wonderful day” or “BABIES”. She doesn’t have a personality and Adam now has the personality of Chance. I could see her character get the ax.

I could watch Vasi over Kahil any day, LOL. CK has this whiny tone that makes her unwatchable.

Plus, the sex scene between her and DG on their wedding night were just creepy. She looked like a stick and he looked like a pedophile.

I got the new issue of Nelson Branco’s SoapCensored tonight. It says that Y&R/Sony would do anything possible to *end Lane one way or another.* Why would that be? And if it’s true why didn’t they just let Cane stay DEAD?

I think she’s trying now to get the Lane fanbase fired up to protest and have them keep her employed, like Daniel Goddard did. If she were a better actress, I might care, but she is uniformly terrible. Heck, even during her big cancer storyline, it was “wig” and “cancer hat” that did all the heavy lifting.

What happened to..”I don’t have a mortgage so nows the time for me to follow my dream of becoming a movie star”? like she said on her website? Oh yeah, I forgot it’s all a ploy for more $$$$. i just think this kind of pandering by ALL actors is shameless. Telling your fans to write and express your displeasure…give me a break. As far as I’m concerned she can take Cane with her!

I think CK is a fall guy. 1) they WANTED to get rid of her to end the mind-numbingly boring LANE (plus she sucks and 2) They can have a “see what we did to Christel?” bargaining chip when dealing with other actors during their contract negotiations.

I would be willing to bet some big money that the restriction that CK is talking about, is keeping Victoria Rowell away from Y&R. And if that is the case, well sorry CK, you will not be missed. VR is a much more talented actress then she could ever possibly be. Let’s all pray that a Dru return is in the near future!

[quote=keepthesoapsalive]I would be willing to bet some big money that the restriction that CK is talking about, is keeping Victoria Rowell away from Y&R. And if that is the case, well sorry CK, you will not be missed. VR is a much more talented actress then she could ever possibly be. Let’s all pray that a Dru return is in the near future![/quote]

I really don’t think that’s it. I think she wanted more flex time to do *more projects.* Well….now baby girl has all the time in the World!

[quote=Coffee_Junkie][quote=keepthesoapsalive]I would be willing to bet some big money that the restriction that CK is talking about, is keeping Victoria Rowell away from Y&R. And if that is the case, well sorry CK, you will not be missed. VR is a much more talented actress then she could ever possibly be. Let’s all pray that a Dru return is in the near future![/quote]

I really don’t think that’s it. I think she wanted more flex time to do *more projects.* Well….now baby girl has all the time in the World![/quote]

NONE OF THESE PEOPLE SEEM TO UNDERSTAND, VICTORIA ROWELL WILL NEVER EVER BE BACK ON YOUNG AND RESTLESS. THEY NEED SOMETHING NEW TO DISCUSS.

[quote=jetty]I think she’s trying now to get the Lane fanbase fired up to protest and have them keep her employed, like Daniel Goddard did. If she were a better actress, I might care, but she is uniformly terrible. Heck, even during her big cancer storyline, it was “wig” and “cancer hat” that did all the heavy lifting.[/quote]

OMG and so it begins. The “Save Christel” campaign. I don’t know how old these kids are who are making these music videos, but they should get outside and play before school starts up again.

Okay, I feel better. She couldn’t get what she wanted and she’s out. Not just up and recast…I can live with it. BUT, don’t want a recast, just write the character out. Have her get a strange phone call from someone claiming to be Dru and have her jet off to look for her. And then voila, Dru comes back home…sans Lily.

I hope she goes she needs to be aged a little. And I would love to see DS back. Lilly and Cane are so boring anymore I hope they split them up and put who ever comes on as Lilly with some one new. Just get rid of CK.

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